Energy supplying power plants, whether nuclear, hydro or fossil fueled, contain numerous turbine assemblies which play an integral part in energy production. Power shortages and outages have become increasingly more common and well publicized in recent years. Both experts and the press have highlighted the fact that few new power plants are being constructed to alleviate the dwindling power supply.
It is important that the turbines in power plants be constructed and maintained with the utmost efficiency. Loss of a large plant during a time of high power demand can cost over five million dollars per hour for replacement power or blackouts if replacement power is not available. The power plants alone can lose millions of dollars when a turbine is down for maintenance or due to breakage. Turbines have a large number of crevices and openings. During maintenance of assembly, small parts, screws, bolts, or other foreign objects can fall into these crevices. If not retrieved or noticed, these small parts have the potential to destroy a turbine and create hazardous situations such as by having a broken rotor piece explode through the turbine housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,356 relates to a device which can be utilized to temporarily seal substantially any opening on a turbine which is being assembled or repaired. The foreign material exclusion device includes a body, preferably formed from a foamed polymer or rubber. The foreign material exclusion device is substantially elastic or resilient and can be compressed to fit into a desired opening and can be re-expanded to provide a snug fit about an opening. An extraction member is connected to the body and is preferably utilized to remove the device from a portion of a cavity of a turbine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,014 relates to a device which can be utilized to temporarily seal substantially any opening on a turbine which is being assembled or repaired. The foreign material exclusion device of the present invention advantageously maintains fail-safe integrity of desired portions of a turbine. Protection of the sensitive areas of a turbine prevents possible hazardous malfunctions or explosions of a turbine. The foreign material exclusion device is substantially elastic or resilient and can be compressed to fit into a desired opening and can be re-expanded to provide a snug fit about an opening.